Pages

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

08 March 2011

More on the subject of trials and suffering

Last night I was reading through a section of the BST commentary on John written by Bruce Milne as I prepared for a Bible study. We are looking at John 11, part of which is the story of Lazarus' death and being raised back to life by Jesus - and Mary and Martha's response to these events. In thinking about how Mary and Martha grew in their faith during these events, Bruce Milne said this:

Jesus' attitude to sickness here is parallel to 9:3: the sickness provides a platform so that the 'work of God might be displayed in his life.' What is true here at the level of physical illness can be extended to all the trials we face as Christian disciples. Our natural response is to rebel against them as alien intruders, which must be expelled from our lives as quickly and painlessly as possible by every means available, including God's miraculous intervention. With hindsight, however, another perspective is possible. We can offer our trials to God for him either to remove or retain as He pleases, thereby bringing glory to his name and deepening our faith, and possibly that of others too.
Joni Eareckson Tada, a paraplegic sufferer, authentically expresses this second alternative. "I do not care if I am confined to this wheelchair provided from it I can bring glory to God." The same conviction is expressed more generally by Hudson Taylor. "Trials afford God a platform for his working in our lives. Without them I would never know how kind, how powerful, how gracious He is." While we may feel daunted by the heights of devotion reflected in these quotations, we can all make a beginning in our present pains by offering them consciously to God for His using. From such small seeds a new maturity can blossom.

About Me

Find me on Facebook

The Book Depository

Please click HERE to read my affiliate policy or click on the button below to go straight to The Book Depository.

And if you can't see a Book Depository button and there is just a big space below this message it means your virus protection software is obscuring my third party button. If so you can get to the Book Depository either by clicking in the space where the button should be...or by going via the Affiliate Policy page found via the tab under my purple flower picture.